What lies within the Black Forest? This in itself is a secret.
...
Rather than discovering adventurers, Centaur Elder Wad discovered adventurer corpses. Over thirty bodies were sprawled haphazardly around the woodland, dressed in light gray robes with silver armor peeking out.
Brand lifted the robe off a corpse, seeing the deep red fla insignia on the silver armor. He thought, as expected—these were the guards of the Holy Temple. In fact, when he entered this grove with Queniel and Centaur Elder Wad, he deduced this from their postures.
The longswords scattered on the ground were evidently of Kruz style, but only those affiliated with the temple would flamboyantly wield longswords; other human armies would use war axes or other standard weapons.
After lifting the robe, he confird this point.
"They're gray-robed monk soldiers from the Fla Temple," he stood up, saying to Queniel and Centaur Elder Wad beside him, "I wonder if there are any fla guards."
"They likely didn't encounter wolves, yet the thirty-plus corpses neatly arrayed here is unsettling," Centaur Elder Wad said.
"Indeed, if the temple had collected the corpses, they wouldn't leave comrades exposed in the wild. Even if they had no ti, they could have buried them hastily. They were aware of wolves in the forest."
Brand moved to the next corpse, lifting the cloth robe: "Another monk soldier."
"The key is there are no signs of struggle," Queniel comnted, as the occasional forest night owl's call made his ear twitch, "It looks as if they just passed out, with no apparent fatal wounds."
"All like this?"
"All like this."
After examining three bodies, Brand lifted his head, his gaze crossing the woodland—besides lying on the ground or leaning against trees, the thirty-plus corpses sowhat preserved their living postures.
They had their eyes closed, weapons lying nearby, as if they simply fell asleep.
However, their gray-white lifeless skin proved they were devoid of life.
This scene was exceedingly eerie.
Centaur Elder Wad and Tree Elf Leader Queniel saw the scene from nearby but remained silent; this spooky situation didn't surprise them—no one knows the Black Forest, which resembles a massive nightmare the deeper you venture, waiting to silently lull you to eternal sleep.
But Brand's thoughts differed.
"I wonder if life was snuffed out instantaneously, or if they experienced sothing beforehand. What caused all this? Was it wolves?"
Brand moved silently among the bodies, hesitant to draw conclusions, yet compared to the natives' helplessness, Brand had already discovered clues through the corpses' state.
His Level 130 warrior experience wasn't for nothing.
For experience, whether Wad or Queniel, they must consider him a senior.
Brand abruptly halted by a corpse, crouched down, seeing the monk soldier clutching a golden amulet. He forcefully pried the amulet from the cold, stiff fingers, confirming the ti of death—the corpse hadn't been dead long, offering so warmth, resembling a wax figure.
Brand then placed a hand on the soldier's chest, feeling a lingering warmth that indicated the temple had passed recently. Yet the quick timing astounded Brand—they must have known the Druids' plan and exploited these naive tree elves.
"Hmph, these wealthy forces truly excel in gathering intel," Brand thought.
He knew druids' major operations would only elude minor factions like Golden Mane Tuokui Ning and Erune. The Bujia wizards, Holy Temple, and Kruz people likely anticipated tonight's outco.
This ant they should have ventured toward the Cloud Ring's depths.
Brand lifted his gaze towards the woodland's corpses, pondering if delving into the Trade Wind Ring was truly simple. Though colossal, they probably didn't foresee his prior experience.
As Brand delves deeper into this world, he senses the edge players once held.
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